Improved railway-frog



UNrTED STATES WILLIAM B. GAGE, OF SARATOGA SPRINGS, AND WILLIAM H. STAATS, OF

CRESCENT, NEW YORK.

IMPRO'VED RAILWAY-FROG.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 93,076, dated July`27, 1869.

' to uit whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, WILLIAM B. GAGE, of

Saratoga Springs, and WILLIAM H. STAATS,

. making part of this specitication,in which- Figure l is a plan or top view of our improved frog, showing the reversible bars and the springs which operate the same. Fig. 2 is an'elevation ofthe same, showing the plates which hold the springs in position, and'upon which the reversible plates or bars are guided. Fig. 3 is a transverse section on line Z Z of Fig. l, showing the means of attaching the reversible bars to the cast or stationary portion of the frog. Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the plate which secures the springs in position, an d upon which thereversible plates are guided. Fig. 5 is a modification of the arm and socket for the spring formed upon the reversible bars of the frog. Fig. 6 is a section on line x a: of

Fig. 5. Fig. 7 is an end view of the frog, showing` the pockets for the reception of the rails; and Fig. 8 is a section on line y y of Fig. 1.

Corresponding letters refer to corresponding parts in the several gures.

This invention relates to an improvement iu railroad-frogs; and it consists in so constructing and arranging such devices that the movable portions thereof shall be held in posi'- tion with reference to the stationary point by means of springs, and also sov that said movable portions may be reversed when their upper surfaces become worn by the action ofthe wheels in passing them, and thus their lower surfaces be turned upward, so as to present themselves to the wearing action of the wheels, as will be more fully described hereinafter.

A in the drawings represents a frog for railroads, which may be ot' cast metal, and of any length required, and dimensions otherwise, to meet the requirements of the position in which 1t is to be placed, it being supplied with the usual bearing-surfaces for resting upon timbers, upon which it is to be placed, and with the usual recessesor pockets at its ends for the reception of the rails of the track, of which it is to form a part.

B B represent automatically-moving plates, which may be of cast-steel, or of wrought-iron faced with steel, or of any other suitable niaterial. These bars or plates are pivoted to the cast-metal portion of the frog, as shown at a in Fig. 3 of the drawings, they having a recess formed in their surfaces for the reception of a projection raised upon the cast portion for the purpose of securing the ends in which such recesses are formed in position. It will be seen that these bars swing or vibratefrom the points at which they are pivoted to the casting, their upper and lower surfaces being smooth and parallel, so that the lower surfaces may rest tirmly and yet mov' easily upon the Lipper surface of the casting upon which they rest. The opposite ends of these bars or plates are curved outward, as shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings, so that as a wheel approaches them upon either track its ange may be lallowed to pass between such bar and what is termed the point of the frog,7 said bar swinging outward automatically or by thc action ofthe flange of the passing wheel.

C represents the point of the frog, which is to be made of steel or any other suitable material,'and secured to the cast metal of the frog in any suitable manner. A

,D'represents a lug, one of which is to be placed upon each side of the frog at the proper points-to receive the projections E E, formed upon the barsor plates B B. y

E E represent arms or projections, which are formed upon the bars or plates B B at or near their points of divergence from a straight line. These arms or projections have formed within their outer ends a circular recess, which extends inward for any desired distance, but entirely through the bar, which recess is for the reception of spring G, as shown in Figs. l and 2 ofthe drawings. Upon one side of these arms there is formed a slot, which passes to and communicates with the recess in the same, in which the spring is located, and is for the purpose of receiving the guide F.

F represents a guide, the construction of which is clearly shown at Fig. 4L of the drawings, where it will be seen that it consists ot' a plate of metal, having upon one of its ends a circular projection, which is so formedA as to enter the recess in the bars B B and retain the springs G in .their positions, while the opposite end has formed upon it alip, which passes down upon the side of theprojectionsE, for the purpose of preventing the plate from turning as the bar slides out and iu upon it. rlhis bar is secured to the ears of the frog by means of a bolt, which passes down through both, and has upon its lower end a nut for holding it in position.

Gr G represent spiral springs, which are to be placed within the aperture or recess formed in the lugs E for their reception, they being so arranged that when the bars B B, or either of them, have been forced outward or away from the point by a passing wheel, they will not to return suoli bar to its original position.

The object of the peculiar construction ofthe plates or bars B B and of the recess and slot in arms E E thereof is to enable us to reverse the said plates when their upper surfaces become worn, and thus to placethe upper or worn surfaces upon the lower side, while the lower and smooth surface is turned upward .and presented to the wear of the wheels, by

which means a great saving is produced. This change in the position of bars B B is made by simply removing the bolts a a and changing the plates or reversing their positions, which reversal, it will be seen, necessitates the changing ot' `the surfaces above referred to.

The modifications shown -in Figs. 5 and 6 are designed to show how the plates or bars B B may be prepared for turning and reversing by having semicircular projections formed upon them to movein correspondingly-formed recesses upon the plate upon which they move.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

The within-described construction and arrangement ofthe plates B B, as a consequence of which they are made capable of being reversed and so changed in position as to present their upper and lower surfaces alternately to the wearing action of the wheels, as and for the purpose specified. i

In testimony whereof` we have signed our names to this specification in the presence ot' two subscribing witnesses.

WM. B. GAGE. WM. H. STAATS.

Witnesses:

W. HENRY VIBBARDES, W. C. SMITH. 

